Five Myths about Moldovan Agriculture

After two years of being here, I still can't say I'm an expert in anything.  However, I can say that I have become much more informed, especially when it comes to agricultural development.  Below, I give five myths followed by truths and sample cases, which will help shed some light on the Moldovan agricultural situation.

1.       Money is the problem.  "If only I had $xxxxx to invest, I could really make money."

Truth: A lack of money is rarely the problem in the end.  Sure, money is absolutely necessary in reaching a certain economy of scale that will be able to capture some profit, and it takes time to make enough money to do that.  However, the real challenges are the critical steps that occur from the time of investing the money to turning a profit.  The biggest problem I have seen over and over again through this process revolves around the failures of human resources to do the job, whatever it may be, correctly.  That and the lack of insurance against inclimate bad weather. Investors are looking but they need some assurance that their money won't be wasted and that farmers are willing to meet their product demands.  That also requires farmers to be open and focused on meeting the demands of new customers (which could mean growing different crops or using different methods).
Case in point: Black Sea Seeds Company in Moldova produces organic seeds for the Dutch market.  Under the direction of the owner of the company here, they have invested time and money in finding the land, working with farmers, purchasing equipment, and  following through on both the production side and complicated business side of exporting products (let alone organic seeds!) to Holland.  A lot of money is needed for this venture, but that was never the problem.  It's the hard work in getting from point A to point B without too many detours that is the most challenging.  Imagine all the work between these two points:

• Point A:  No registered business. No land. No contracted farmers. No managers or consultants. Little know-how on navigating Moldovan complicated business laws.   

• Point B: Up and running business.  Organically certified land under contract.  Capable farmers, workers, managers, and accountants hired and doing their job correctly.  Technical knowledge of farming, business practices, and export processes acquired. 

Black Sea Seeds CEO Diana Hoorn on her farm.

2.       Moldovan farmers have no new market opportunities. They are confined to domestic markets.

Truth: Moldovan farmers may not be able to tap into markets due to broken links in value chains, the farmers' own lack of will or education, or their lack of cooperation amongst each other. However, I am not alone in believing that plenty of markets are available (such as organic commodities, salad greens, grassfed beef, year-round fresh fruit and vegetables through greenhouse use, and other niche markets).  International investors are interested in the Moldova agricultural sector, but they need to find the right people, those willing to do the dirty work.  The paper work, management, educational side for growers, accounting, and production need to be done by mostly local people who care about little details and focus on quality work.
Case in point: Currently, I've been consulting with an American organic sunflower oil company, who wants to diversify their supply of sunflowers (mostly away from Ukraine).  This could pose a great opportunity for some Moldovan farmers, who could receive a premium price for their sunflowers and have a forward contract at a high volume.  As I am in discussions with different stakeholders, there's just one missing link: who will convince farmers to agree to this opportunity and to train them in organic farming processes?!  I haven't heard of one person who can locate a strong contingent of local farmers who are open and serious about this idea.  I'm also not talking about small landholders of 3 hectares but bigger farmers who have already shown some capacity for commercial farming.

The traditional method of travel, a horse and cart, in rural Moldova seen here carrying hay.

3.       Technology is outdated, and systems are broken. Moldovan agriculture has no ability to improve.  

Truth:  Indeed, barriers to accessing improved technologies at a reasonable cost to Moldovan farmers can be very challenging.  The challenges are not impossible to overcome, but farmers must be savvy enough and ambitious enough to want to learn about how to improve the way they do things.  I'm not so sure they all have quite the knowledge or the hunger to acquire it.  If it's not that, then some might also have a few barriers to accessing the appropriate technologies.
Case in point: I worked with one farmer, Ion, in a quest to acquire a corn picker that is specific to fresh sweet corn. One might think that Moldovan villages would have good manual labor to offer, but many able hands and bodies have left to work elsewhere.  Those that are left may not always be the most hardworking or trustworthy (a severe case of "Brain Drain" that can hardly be compared to the mild form of what we call Brain Drain in Nebraska).  This leaves farmers with a choice between an unstable harvest laborer cohort or a challenging upgrade in technology that could cause a cash flow problem.  With Ion, my main role was to be a translator for him so he could communicate with the one and only company selling the desired equipment in Europe (outside of Ukraine which was too unstable).  Translating from English to Romanian was practically essential to ensuring a successful transaction, as discussions of prices, taxes, equipment specifics, logistics and other things would not have made so much sense.  (Google translate can only go so far...)  I give this as an example that supports the hard truth that it can be very difficult to make technology upgrades, but it's not impossible.  If I wasn't here, Ion is still determined and scrappy enough to have done it himself.

A market in Causeni, selling the traditional products of the season

4.       A typical Moldovan farmer knows everything he needs to know.  He's pretty much a jack-of-all-trades, so there's no need to tell him how to improve his operation.

Truth: A great need for legitimate educational training for farmers exists. I have been disappointed by the lack of relevant trainings that help farmers improve their bottom line.  Local consultants in rural extension offices are surely a valuable link for quick technical knowledge, and these offices offer administrative support that otherwise would leave farmers hard pressed to finish all that voluminous paperwork they must complete in order to obtain any form of subsidy (such as financial assistance for new equipment, greenhouses, irrigation systems, and disaster relief). However, I still see a need for more engaging educational opportunities for farmers.  Rather than farmers being requested by local agents to come to seminars (and certainly to come to sign the paper that says they attended), farmers would freely come for reason of education and value.
Case in point: Culturally speaking, the Soviet way of doing things historically left no room for error. Even though of course everyone makes mistakes at some point, collective farm mistakes had to be hidden.  The Soviet Union as a centralized economy also made most decisions for collective farms.  If the government said a farm needs to produce 50 tons of x crop and the farm only produced 47 tons, the farm would still report 50 tons as requested.  These old habits of stretching the truth impacts today's Moldovan agricultural economy. Many farmers today don't want to admit that they may have failed at something at some point and struggle with calculating risk accurately in business decision making, as they haven't had the education or practice with it.

For farmers in Moldova today, they must admit to the things they don't know.  This means learning about the methods of agriculture and processes of business that can be improved such as implementing no-till practices; learning about improving soil fertility and crop yields with low-cost technologies; making and using budgets and business plans; and focusing on a long-term strategy for farm improvements.  Some farmers and agribusiness people in Moldova do focus on these things, and I am grateful for them!  I just wish I found them in greater numbers and with more honest tenacity for rural development success.

A long-time employee of Asconi Winery filtering wine in modernized tanks

5.       Moldovan wines are too unknown for them to be able to expand production and expand into new markets.

Truth: Moldova's got nothing as far as its representation for good wine like many other Old World wine countries (France, Italy, Spain, Germany, etc.), but they still have the ability to market themselves as European wine at perhaps a lower cost.  Besides creating a quality product, winemaking has much to do with marketing your wine to the right audience and in the right way.  Moldova has a competitive advantage here by its unique winemaking history and location and perhaps by the lower cost of production here as well. (Equipment is still very expensive!)
Case in point: One winery, Asconi, produces over a million bottles annually and exports almost all of it. Historically, their biggest customer was Russia as it was a safe, constant client for Moldovan wines. As the Russian market has become more and more unreliable in the last 10 years, wineries including Asconi have looked elsewhere to sell their wines.  Markets for Asconi currently include the Czech Republic, Poland, Nigeria, South Africa, Israel, Lithuania, and others.  Moldova also has an opportunity to reach the ever-growing mass of wine-drinking Asians as well.

This discussion about Moldovan agriculture is still quite basic.  I'm sure that each myth and truth would lead to much more commentary, but this provides a basic taste of some of the challenges and opportunities found in agriculture here that I have observed.  I am still so proud to know many farmers here that work so hard, and I applaud them for their efforts.

Whirlwind November: Vacation and Innovation Weekend

I apologize in advance for the brevity (or lack of brevity if you ask some) in this post and the tardiness of it as well.  Maybe I should focus a bit more on the 3^rd Goal of Peace Corps after all- to help Americans better understand the people and cultures of other countries.  Then I’d be more inclined to blog more than once a month!

My Peace Corps service is often just one big whirlwind.  I look back at the last month and think, “what happened?”  So much can happen in the course of a week or two, let alone one day.

So allow me to share the highlights of the month of November: a vacation and the much anticipated Innovation Weekend!

Vacation

I must admit that I was very much ready for a vacation, a temporary halt in the busy schedule I had created for myself in the last month and a break far away from work, worries, and the often chaotic routine of my life in Moldova. 

Temple of Zeus in the front with the Acropolis in the distance.

Greece was a sunny, ideal place for escape and for relaxing the mind and body.  It took me a few days to truly enjoy my time on vacation.  Moldova can seep into your pores, and before you know it, all you can talk about or think about is MOLDOVA!  Work, project ideas, challenges, stories of life at site, and naturally just anything about the life we live now were all topics that stayed with me and my friends with whom I traveled.  Thus, we made a pact to shy away from chats about Moldova and indulge more fully in the culture, food, and historical relics right in front of our eyes.

View from Hydra Island

We spent three full days in Athens, where antiquity meets modernity.  One day was devoted to the Athens Marathon, which my colleagues Matt and Chris dominated.  We enjoyed all sorts of amazingly delicious food.  The slow food culture of Greece is just up my ally.  The locals who we met were all perfectly warm and hospitable.  Moments will likely lie in my memory for a while: the old jolly man pouring us his homemade raki at his family's century-old restaurant, the carpet salesman luring Philip in by offering his mother's homemade wine from the island of Crete, the Acropolis and the millenia that have passed since its construction. 

We also visited for a day the island of Hydra, where donkeys and your own two feet are the only means of transportation to navigate the sleepy, touristic fishing village found there.  We hiked up on top of the hills on the island, had a delectable lunch that included the fresh catch of the day, enjoyed a nice chat over coffee with the cook/fisherman of our lunch, and ended the day with a dip in the cold, refreshing Mediterranean Sea.  It was perfect.

A donkey on Hydra Island, loaded up with olive oil canteens.  I wish I could have carted one of those canteens to Moldova!

On our way back to Moldova, we had an overnight layover in Vienna.  While living in DC prior to my work here, I met an Austrian winemaker with whom I have kept in contact.  We were very lucky on our short layover.  My friend, Goose, picked us up, took us to his friend’s winery (his own was too far away), and then to a traditional restaurant named the Beethoven Haus for a wine tasting with some traditional Austrian cuisine.  How did we find ourselves sitting across from three world-class Austrian winemakers in Vienna, Austria?  The world is just a small, connected place with quite a few gracious people.  It was a jolly good time, absorbing the Austrian hospitality and wine culture.  I plan to go back.  A huge plus to volunteering in Eastern Europe that's probably evident by now to any frequent reader of my blog is that proximity to all of Europe makes for some amazing, unforgettable vacations!

Innovation Weekend

A team's canvas in progress.

After vacation, we got right back to business in Moldova.  Arriving on Thursday with a training to help facilitate on Saturday, the focus of the next couple weeks was all on Innovation Weekend.  The training on Saturday was for all the 20 volunteers (10 Peace Corps and 10 Junior Achievement), who would lead the teams of 6 students through the Lean Canvas training and pitch competition for the next weekend’s event.

Much of my time of the week prior to Innovation Weekend was spent preparing in Chisinau.  As the one administering the grant received through Peace Corps, I had to be there to purchase any necessary supplies and collect receipts of everything.  Junior Achievement also asked me to join them on a television morning show to promote Innovation Weekend.  I had to accept, power through exhaustion, conquer my nerves, brave my language barrier, and go for it.  I didn’t botch it too badly.

Fearless leaders of Innovation Weekend.

Soon came the weekend for which we had prepared for months.  “Weekend-ul Inovației” brought together 60 students from all regions of Moldova, who were eager to learn about this new concept called the Lean Canvas that rooted any business ideas to the basics.  Begin with the root problem you'd like to solve for your customer.  Find the solution, based on your customer needs.  Make sure that what you are offering adds value to your customer but at the minimum level, and after talking to the clients, tweak your product or service (“iterate”) and present your “minimum viable product” to your investors (or in our case, to the judges).

Team time.  Deliberation on what the Minimum Viable Product is that they're offering.

Day 1 was devoted to Lean Canvas training and Day 2 was devoted to teams testing their products on real Moldovans and pitching their business model idea to a panel of five distinguished judges.  I encourage you to find out more on our GLOW/TOBE page about the event.  Look through some photos, and get an idea of who participated and what they did.  The winning team had a business idea of a device that can be attached to a bicycle to create alternative energy. The team won due to the innovative aspect of the product, the feasibility of the idea, and the originality of the presentation. Other ideas that were awarded were for a smart phone app through which the driver can be informed about the traffic situation and also a delivery service of healthy to-go meals for students at school.

A team pitches their idea.

By the end of the weekend, participants walked away tired but with smiles.  They had learned a lot, worked hard to build and test their business model, and found the courage and team spirit to pitch their ideas in front of the judges.  Volunteers, participants, and Moldovan partners alike all want to see this Innovation Weekend become an annual celebration of Global EntrepreneurshipWeek in Moldova.  I hope they can find the will and the way to do it, and I will guide them in the coming months to try and make it possible.  Thank you all again, who financially supported my PCPP grant!  It would not have been possible without you!

After tying up loose ends on Monday, I went home exhausted and stayed there for an entire week.  That was exactly what I wanted to do for my Thanksgiving: stay home!  I called my host family on Thanksgiving day for the first time in months.  I went over there for a quick hello, which turned into hours of catching up and good cheer.  I then skyped with my family and relatives and counted my blessings. It was a great week of rest and a perfect Thanksgiving spent in Moldova.

Whirlwind November flew by, and I can now say that it was quite the productive one.  Now already a good ways into December, I'm filling out closing reports, working on a few more projects for the next few months, and enjoying the start of the holiday season.  

Cheers!

Bringing the Lean Start-Up Methodology to Moldova

Last week from start to finish was pretty crazy but productive.  I'm staying busy and having a lot of fun (plus a little stress), preparing for some really great events to come this fall and getting Moldovans involved along the way!

I spent last week  in Chisinau for two trainings and a conference.  I presented to the PCVs who just began their service on different opportunities to educate youth in Moldova about business.  Tuesday and Wednesday, I assisted my fellow PCV, Matt, in a training on the Lean Canvas Model and Lean Start-up methodologies.  On Tuesday, we trained Year 1 PCVs in the Small Enterprise Development (SED) Program.  On Wednesday, we trained both the leaders of Junior Achievement Moldova and of the IATA Program from Winrock International.  Talk about three days of getting work done!  I think and hope they were a very productive three days.

During the Lean Canvas training, they did exactly what students will do during Innovation Weekend.  They were tasked to create a lean canvas that addressed a problem in rural Moldova and added value to consumers.

Speaking of the Lean Start-Up methodology, why are we putting such an emphasis on this, you might ask?  This up and coming new concept is changing the way that entrepreneurs of any size approach starting a business.  We see many practical applications even here in small town Moldova!  

"It's a methodology called the "lean start-up," and it favors experimentation over elaborate planning, customer feedback over intuition, and iterative design over traditional "big design up front" development."   -Steve Blank

Please continue reading the article here from the Harvard Business Review for a succinct explanation of the idea, versus the conventional business plan idea.  My personal observation tells me that many businesses fail in Moldova (as they do everywhere), because they did not find the root cause of the problem their business is trying to solve for customers and thus did not add value to the customer (who pays for something of little worth?).  Business owner forgot or ignored communicating with their customers in the first place, and in turn invested way too much money to build a business that was doomed for failure.

The Lean Start-up methodology is something we see as offering a clear picture of how to create a model of business that can work, even in Moldova.  How do we plan to impress these ideas on those who will soon be the next generation of entrepeneurs in Moldova?  I've mentioned this before, but I will mention it again (because it's too important and exciting not to!).  GLOW/TOBE, in collaboration with Junior Achievement Moldova, is organizing an Innovation Weekend on November 23-24 which will be the highlight event for Global Entrepeneurship Week Moldova.

We're still in need of financial support, and I'm charging you, faithful reader, to help garner funding in the next 25 days! Please utilize the donation page (link to donate on the right).  I am open to your suggestions as well, as to what information I could provide that may help make you better informed about my work here or specifically Innovation Weekend.

Training with the Junior Achievement Moldova and IATA Winrock program staff, plus a few volunteers from each organization.

One activity focused on building each other up as teams.

Pitching a business idea, creatively.

The week wrapped up with a conference to bring together all of those non-educator PCVs to share, reflect, and move forward with ideas and projects we want to pursue or implement in the next year.  I mostly was excited about discussing youth development particularly in correlation with business education and also supporting young, ambitious agriculturalists in Moldova.  

The icing on the cake was the creation of this sweet video for Sudden Cardiac Awareness Month.  My roommate has this topic close to her heart, as her brother has a miraculous story related to his heart.

Throughout Moldova, people celebrated the "new wine" created from the fall grape harvest.  I enjoyed my time at the Chisinau WineFest with a number of my PC friends and even some of their parents who came to visit!  My favorite winery, Et Cetera, won the Best Winemaker Award for this year!!  Twas a great finish to a week of productivity.  

Now if you could just please help me fundraise for Innovation Weekend!

At Wine School at WineFest.  You can tell that fall has arrived, as I sport two scarves!

Visitors, Travels, and a New Home!

August was a month that brought many good things: my parents, vacation, and a new place to call home!

My parents spent almost a week here in Moldova and received quite the tour and cultural exchange  They met my host families, many of my Moldovan friends and colleagues, and some Peace Corps friends and staff.  We also took a tour of an organic farm in the north and a 50-year experimentation plot of farmland associated with the university in Balti.  We also visited my favorite winery, Et Cetera, and a village as well.

After their stop in Moldova, all three of us adventured to 3 different cities/countries in 5 days: 24 hours in Riga, Latvia; 24 hours in London, England; and 3 days in Ireland.  It's hard to sum up in a few sentences what all we did and how it went.  Overall, I was so happy to be on tour with my parents.  Each city/country had its own story; each cab driver, waiter, or local his/her own ideas and disposition (mostly all positive); each city its own rhythm; each meal its own measure of delight; and each conversation its own enjoyment, lesson or memory.  I value seeing this type of diversity in my life- different people, cultures, languages, music, cuisine, etc.  The only thing that I think can remain the same that I won't ever tire of is a joy-filled heart and a positive attitude. My parents were champions of both the diversity and the good heart and attitude.

I came back to Moldova, feeling tired but ultimately so refreshed.  I'm naturally feeling positive (wasn't always the case this summer!) and feeling that Moldova is exactly where I'm supposed to be for the next year.  Also, in the last week, we moved into our new, nice apartment.  It feels like home, and we hope that we don't ever have to move again until we depart this country!

Here are a few photos from the last few weeks:

Out in the village having tea time.  This organic farm is owned by a friend of mine from Holland, and here you see the farm manager's wife, Rita, (also a Dutch family) and her little sun peaking out from behind her.  All other employees of the farm are Moldovans from the village where they reside.

Here we are with my host brother in his cold room for mushroom production.

Riga, Latvia!  I was a bit smitten by this city and its quiet, cute old town.  This was taken from the top of the tallest cathedral in the center.

London!  It rained the day we were there, but we saw a show, Jersey Boys, the night before which was stellar.

Starbucks in London.  After a year without it, it was dee-licious.  Just the Pike's Peak Blend...  simple and delicious.  The decision made by Starbucks in the last year that I disagree with is that they took away their whole milk/cream to put in your black coffee!  Come on...  Those who want to be healthy will be healthy.  I am one of those, but I still chose the creamy whole milk!

Ireland! Old castles are all over the place. (Sorry, I have forgotten the name of this one.)

Centuries ago, the natives cleared the land of rocks and built fences like this.  Can you imagine that manual work?  It left the country with some beautiful super green pastures, though!

Cliffs of Moher and some pretty flowers in the front... which are actually thistles.  My dad concluded that all of Europe that we visited is infiltrated with this weed , the (Canadian) "thistle", said condescendingly and under one's breath.  My dad despises them on his farm, because they're invasive, pokey, and if left unchecked, will proliferate in your field!  But I say out of unwanted and proliferous plants, you can find beauty even still!

A few days after I returned from my vacation, international guests from 7 different countries came to our little town to prepare for a Youth Exchange here, beginning in late October!  I facilitated this very short 2-day meeting. 

One of the participants, Victorya, I met last March in Armenia at the training course in which I participated.

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Like I said in my last post, the next few months are going to be quite busy.  My brain gets a little fuzzy when I try to think all at once about what this fall holds.  Lots of business education opportunities, which is exciting!!   

Spring Has Sprung

After a few weeks back in the Republic of Moldova, I'm back into the swing of life here.  As you may remember, my primary work placement is with ACSA, the rural extension agency in Moldova more or less.  Unfortunately, they have not had any more funding since I arrived at site.  Since January, they have not even paid salaries to any ACSA employees, which includes the 3 employees in our office (plus part-time cleaning lady and part-time accountant) and all of our local consultants (paid part-time).  Thus, the situation has been pretty bleak and difficult.  The federal government must agree to fund ACSA for the next five years hopefully.  They say they will have an answer by April 22, but they've given several deadlines like this with no results.  What they seem to not understand on the national level is that some offices are closing out of necessity and may not reopen so easily.  Our office has stayed open almost every day on a volunteer basis.  Some farmers still come in to complete paperwork for grants/subsidies previously received from the federal government.  A handful of farmers every week come in to ask questions on other matters. 

As my primary work placement hasn't had much work for me to do, I continue to focus my efforts in other areas.  The biggest area is youth development.  Last week on April 3, the English teacher I've been working with implemented a GLOW workshop for ten 10th grade girls, focused on self-esteem and self-confidence.  I was really proud of her!  The girls weren't all that excited to be there at first, but by the end of the workshop, they were enjoying talking about the topic of self-esteem and doing activities that they wouldn't otherwise do.  Video below is an activity that helped to explain what GLOW Girls Leading Our World) was all about.

Last weekend, Moldova ATiP had an informational session on anti-human trafficking efforts in Romania.  The leaders of the marketing campaign, Not For Sale, which is a program of the Ratiu Democracy Center in Romania, shared about their efforts in mobilizing youth and adults in Romania in educating society on human trafficking, risk factors, and also preventative measures to take.  Also, a person from La Strada in Moldova, came and spoke about the organization's Hot Line (Linia Fierbinte).  The call line is available 24/7 for anyone in Moldova or abroad who suspects trafficking of persons; has missing family or friends who may have been trafficked; or is concerned that they may be trafficked themselves. 

Finally, I must share with you my "spring (almost) has sprung" evidence.  At least there are new baby animals around:

Baby puppies and a kitten at my host family's house in Cricova (family from last summer).

I'll end with a list of other things that have made my last couple weeks:

• My host dad told me the last time I visited that he started putting ginger in his tea. Okay, it's not that big of a deal, but the first time I made ginger tea and he tried ginger, he cringed and afterward would not at all go near it! 

• My host family bought a travel package to visit other countries, one week per year for the next three years, on vacation.  Since when did my host family get the urge to travel?  And since when did Misha think he could overcome his fear of flying?  Once again, I'm happy for them and slightly amused that they would do this, knowing that a few months ago they said they have everything they need and could want in Moldova.  Why would they leave?  ("Vacation, sight-seeing, cultural enjoyment, and new perspectives!" I said previously. Maybe they believed me, that it's quite fun to travel.)

• My roommate, Lindsey, is pretty much the best.  She's a good friend, a good cook, a clean roommate, one who will share her food and clothes (expanding wardrobe, woohoo!), one who allows me to bounce my crazy work ideas off her, and one who makes you go out and exercise with her.  We're a pretty good team!

• We had a fantastic Easter celebration with a few close volunteer friends, celebrating the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus.  We're so blessed!